The Godfather of Metal Shines: Ozzy Osbourne’s Iconic Rams Season Opener Performance
Ozzy Osbourne’s half-time show at the Rams Season Opener, 2022, is like watching a legend amongst the living. Performing his brand new single, “Patient Number 9,” the day before its album dropped, he sent fans into a frenzy with his solo hit “Crazy Train.” This supernatural performance comes steeped in godliness.
“Patient Number 9” marks Ozzy Osbourne’s thirteenth studio album to date, remaining the latest in his discography despite a recent viral feature on Billy Morrison’s 2024 track “Crack Cocaine.” Its title track, performed at this half-time show, follows the derailing sanity of a psych ward inpatient doomed to rot inside the walls of their own mind.
Ozzy Osbourne’s ascent to fame followed his hand in pioneering the heavy metal phenomenon as the frontman of Black Sabbath; a band so earth-shakingly original they inadvertently founded a whole new subgenre of metal: doom.
Born in Warwickshire, England, Ozzy formed the Birmingham-based Black Sabbath in 1968 with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. Ozzy’s albums have cemented themselves into the foundation of heavy metal, with tracks like “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” and “Changes” crossing into mainstream consciousness.
After carving his lasting impact into 70s rock, Black Sabbath fired Ozzy for his notorious self-destructive habits and addictive tendencies, replacing him with another legendary metal vocalist, Ronnie James Dio. Only two years later, Ozzy’s 1981 debut solo album, “Blizzard of Ozz,” hit the scene with its iconic single, “Crazy Train,” recorded with yet another metal icon, guitarist Randy Rhodes.
In 2002, a jazz-swing edition of “Crazy Train” sung by Lewis Lamedica introduced the TV sensation, “The Osbournes,” to the world — the first celebrity reality show to take the globe by storm, featuring Ozzy, his wife Sharon Osbourne, and two of Ozzy’s five children, Jack and Kelly Osbourne.
Aged 73 during this half-time performance, it’s crazy to think Ozzy’s backing band — guitarists Zakk Wylde (55) and Andrew Watt (31), drummer Tommy Clufetos (42), and bassist Chris Cheney (52) of Jane’s Addiction — likely grew up listening to his records before making history with the man himself.
Most recently, Ozzy’s recovery from a 2019 spinal injury has led to his farewell tour being postponed several times, pressured further by his Parkinson’s diagnosis revealed in 2020. Despite being sober for over a decade, Ozzy’s health remains a recurring theme in present interviews, battling a myriad of issues including blood clots and “crippling” nerve pain.
While caught in this medical spider’s web, Ozzy’s half-time show at the Rams Season Opener is a testament to his devotion to being heavy metal’s godfather. Amassing over 6.7M YouTube views, his voice sounds like it’s 1971 again, as if even the Parkinson’s daren’t tamper with Ozzy’s legacy.
